Lyrics

Blue Rendezvous

Did you think I forgot?
Or got lost on the way?
Did you think I’d sleep through
Our Blue Rendezvous?

Like a leaf from a tree
I fall toward you
I’ve been falling foreve
Into this Blue Rendezvous

And should I confess?
To the half truths and lies
That I may have offered
As part of my disguise

Well I’ve no where to go
But I’m long overdue
And I tumble like dice
Into this blue rendezvous

Babylon

Charles Williams

You can have it your way if you want it
You can have it all, it means nothing to me
All the noise, the insults, and the rest of it
To my left Babylon
To my right the violins

I took an oath not to let it get inside me
I worked so hard to keep it all away
Your promise came across like a rumor
To my left Babylon
To my right the violins

Did I tell you what I told all the others?
Your uniform looks different in this light
You cried for mercy
But I was looking for forgiveness
You said “be kind, be kind”
But I didn’t have the time

Do it one more time in the name of beauty
Do it one more time for the sake of sin
Do it one more time we’re feeling empty
You take Babylon I’ll take the violins

Did I tell you what I told all the others?
Your uniform looks different in this light
You cried for mercy
But I was looking for forgiveness
You said “be kind, be kind”
I didn’t have the time

Do it one more time in the name of beauty
Do it one more time for the sake of sin
Do it one more time we’re feeling empty
You take Babylon I’ll take the violins
You take Babylon I’ll take the violins
You take Babylon I’ll take the violins

Trashcan Lens

Charles Williams

Zero walked in after twelve o’clock
He said, “who’s dealing? I’m double parked”
And if he’s drinking diesel out of a dixie cup
You’ve got nowhere to go from here but up

The world is just one big Game of Craps
Everyone’s bluffing, ain’t got no cash
And if you fold you gotta face the facts
You got nowhere to go from here but up

Someone’s always be talking about you
Someone’s always trying to close a deal
And someone’s always gonna have one hand in your pocket
While others are tryin’ to cop a feel

It’s four in the mornin’ when the game wears thin
The world looks different through a trashcan lens
If you’re out of focus and out of luck
There’s nowhere to go from here but up
You got nowhere to go but up

The Tango Below

Charles Williams

I’ve been hard on you baby and I know it
The hours have been long and unrewarded
I’ve had you on your knees and I enjoyed it

Let me give a little more than too much
The others say I’ve got a special touch
You look delicious baby and that’s a compliment

You’ve been patient with me
And I’d like to thank you
I know you expected more in return
Than laurel leaves

Our touch is the fire that burns you
A kiss of my glove
There’s no master here
We’re all prisoners of the tango below

You can tell me if it hurts too much
But I like it when you make a fuss
And I’d like it even better
If you’d tell me what you’re in it for

Are your motives more pure than mine?
Are you here, or just here to pass the time?
We can talk about it later
First let me tie this a little tighter

I have a window that faces south to Argentina
At night the sounds of the city blow my way
I hear the songs the gauchos are singing
In the morning the women cry for more
There’s no master here
We’re all prisoners of the tango below

Perhaps we met once in Buenos Aries
I caught your eye in the crowd
You looked so proud

Nobody else needs to know
We were born for the tango below
We could make it easy on ourselves
If we danced with somebody else
But like two moths to a flame – we’d tango again and again

If you wish, I could break these chains
And put an end to this pain
If we stay any longer
We’ll dance like this forever

Your eyes are telling me this is what you came here for
Your lips are asking for more and more
Tonight we’ll dance by the light of your burning body….

Is guilt the price we’ll pay for being selfish
Well I’ve been too busy with my pleasure to give it much thought

I can hear the music in Buenos Aires
There’s always room for two more
There’s no master here
We’re all prisoners of the tango below

Cabbagetown Girl

Charles Williams

We open early and close when we’re tired
We serve up Sorrow with a sandwich on the side
No one says Grace like at the Earl
I’m a Cabbagetown Girl, I work nights at the End of the World

People drift in and stay for years
They grow old and fat on our hash and tears
But don’t even ask for your money back
Just a Cabbagetown Girl working nights at the End of the World

Don’t ask my name
I’ve forgotten
It feels like D-Day
Smoke ’em if you got ’em

Every Tuesday the first one’s free
It’s the next one that’ll make you bleed
You’ll turn white then fade away
I’m a Cabbagetown Girl working nights at the End of the World

We’re open late and when we close the grill
Our regulars start to fire at will
If you’re thinking haute cuisine I ain’t your girl
I’m from Cabbagetown I work nights at the end of the world

The menu’s faded and hard to read
But that don’t matter it’s too dark to see
Too late to leave your flag’s still furled
Anyway we’re celebrating here at the End of the World

It’s like a graveyard you rent by the hour
And every table comes with dead flowers
Just deserts are our specialty
It’s getting late here at the End of the World

Don’t ask my name
I’ve forgotten
It feels like D-Day
Smoke ’em if you got ’em

‘Cause it’s last call, it’s time to quit
It’s Closing Time or just feels like it
We’ll give last call one more try
Just another night, here at the End of the World
Here we go, it’s the End of the World

G-d’s Been Drinking

Charles Williams

There’s a man, lives down the hall
He’s kinda quiet, don’t talk much at all
They say he’s got a Son, that hit it big
Mostly he just bums my cigs
And when I heard an Angel sing
I start to thinking
What would happen if G-d started drinking?

You hear stories, people talk
Like, “He’d lost His temper and smashed up a china shop”
Or “someone went missing, could’ve been His best friend,”
He’d just laugh about it
Make a joke about Original Sin”
But when the locusts start flying
I start to thinking
What would happen if G-d started drinking

I watched him one day as he stepped on a bug
He muttered something like, ‘Dust to Dust’
“Sweet Jeezus,” I said, “that sounds mighty cold.”
He say, “stick with me, and you’ll never grow old”
That’s when the Bushes started Burning
I start to thinking
What would happen if G-d started?

One morning he started shaking something awful
I knew right away he had climbed into the bottle
I said, “Hey man let me get you some help”
He say, “Trust me on this, you got to save yourself”
That’s when I saw the Flood a’ coming
And I start to run
When G-d’s been drinking, He ain’t much fun
I say, “When’s G-d’s been drinking, He ain’t much fun…”.

Empty Streets

Charles Williams

It’s quiet on these city streets
No sound of traffic now
It’s silent on these empty streets
I love you, but put down the gun…

I’ll drink one last drink
And smoke one last smoke
We could talk into the night
I love you, daddy, but put down the gun

It’s quiet on these city streets
No sound of traffic now
It’s silent on these empty streets
I love you, daddy, but put down the gun…

Death Letter in the Mail

Charles Williams

You can feel it coming from a mile away
Like an elephant crashing through the trees
And you don’t know whether to run or hide
So you wait trembling on your knees
Just trembling on your knees

You worry that it’s going to find you
So you nail all the windows shut
You even plugged the hole in the tub
And pray to sweet Jesus for good luck
Just praying to sweet Jesus for good luck

It’s coming, sure as morning
Sure as the twilight fails
And there’s nothing to do but wait and pray
The Death letter’s in the mail

Did you change the locks since yesterday?
Might as well do it again to be sure
Maybe make a sacrifice, do it twice
You can’t be too pure
You sure can’t be too pure

You start wearing gloves like a doctor
Washing your hands all the time
Watching the sky like a holy man
Looking for a sign
You’re just looking for a sign

‘Cause it’s coming, sure as morning
Sure as a bloodhound on the trail
And there’s nothing to do but wait and pray
The Death letter’s in the mail

Where Does It Hurt

Charles Williams

I’m not what you’d call sentimental
I throw the past out with the trash
Old magazines make me feel like gangrene
I say let’s cut and start from scratch

I drive a Buick like g-d intended
It smokes but man is it fast
I speak Chinese and say pretty please
To the barkeep who thinks I’m white trash

Tell me where does it hurt
I’m still dancing for quarters somewhere north of the border
I’m tempted to convert
But then I open my eyes and hear a voice say
Where does it hurt

I’m not what you’d call nostalgic
I’m more likely to forgive and forget
But once in a while I stumble down the aisle
And kneel at the Altar of Regret

You’re the One I remember
So I’ll whisper your name again
With a Time and a Place when we both had a Taste
For the Gifts we came to exchange

Tell me where does it hurt
I’m still dancing for quarters down the Mexican border
I’m tempted to convert But then I open my eyes and hear a voice say……
Tell me where does it hurt
I’m still dancing for quarters down south of the border
I’m tempted to convert
But then I open my eyes and hear a voice say… where does it hurt